The Redistribution Revolution
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Typ
Examensarbete på kandidatnivå
Program
Publicerad
2021
Författare
Stöckel, Alva
Ekblad, Johanna
Ivanetti, Klara
Ekblad, Linda
Haglund, Stina
Oresten, Tryggve
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
A rapidly growing population and the consequent demand for food results in constantly increasing demands on sustainable distribution systems for these goods. Furthermore, it is of great importance to reduce the currently unsustainable amount of food wasted without making use of it. A possible solution for this is the redistribution of surplus food. However, any logistic system, including redistribution systems, result in a negative environmental impact which has to be covered by the resulting positive climate impact stemming from the lowered need for producing the food anew.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the environmental impact of redistribution systems for surplus food and to identify which parameters are important for creating long-term sustainable logistics systems. The goal is to use these insights to create a framework for future implementation of redistribution systems that ensures that the climate impact from food redistribution is less than that for producing food anew. Thus, the framework strives to give the reader an insight into whether the total climate impact of a potential redistribution is climate net positive.
Literature on circular economy, circular business models, food waste, as well as sustainable logistics and transportation, have helped to build the frame of reference with circular economy as the overarching concept for the frame of reference. Then, a multiple case study has been conducted where theory has been supplemented with interviews to create an overall understanding of which parameters are of the greatest importance in practice. Eight tests from a surplus food redistribution project were analyzed and important actors were interviewed to gain a deeper understanding of how future redistribution systems should be designed.
The results of this study show that the distance and the weight of food are important parameters, but difficult to influence. Instead, vehicle type, fuel type, traffic situation, and co-transport are important parameters that can contribute to a reduced climate impact. Further, the interviews have shown that communication between the actors is of great importance and crucial for the system's functionality, and thus a directly contributing factor to save the surplus food. As a result of this study, a mathematical value was calculated which, together with the distance and the climate impact of the production of the goods, can provide guidance regarding the transport's environmental impact, and thus, the climate impact of future redistribution systems can be evaluated before a possible implementation. In this study, the framework has been developed in the context of surplus food but its use could be extended to other goods as well.